The gardens and surrounding estate have always supported many native plants and animals. We are doing all we can to increase this natural diversity within the garden, either by changing management practices or creating new habitats.
These practices include managing our lawns differently. We use no herbicides or fertilisers on the lawns and we leave large areas of grass uncut during the summer. This provides a perfect habitat for butterflies such as the meadow brown. We manage our ponds for amphibians and invertebrates. Visitors can see toads, smooth newts and their numerous tadpoles moving amongst the water weed. We have recently been busy creating deadwood habitats for wildlife, such as dead hedges and woodpiles and putting up bird boxes. You may also come across solitary bee nesting boxes and piles of leaves and twigs for our hibernating hedgehogs. We also aim to dig a new wildlife friendly pond and create a habitat for stag beetles.
When Brook and Margaret Fitzwalter inherited the estate in 1955, the gardens were in a state of neglect after the army requisitioned Goodnestone Park during the Second World War. Lady Fitzwalter and her Head Gardener, John Wellard, undertook the massive task of restoring the gardens. Over the last ten years, the Head Gardener, Paul Bagshaw, and the gardening team have strived to enhance and continue their hard work.
An increasing number of volunteers have also helped the team of gardeners. The team have renovated and redesigned many of the herbaceous borders using different criteria, such as drought tolerance, time of flowering, and flower colour. Recent new gardens include a small tropical garden, a pictorial meadow, and a small succulent garden.
